🌲 Coniferous Trees

Definition: (aka Conifers) Any of various mostly needle-leaved or scale-leaved, chiefly evergreen, cone-bearing gymnospermous trees. There are some 550 species of conifers, including Pine, Fir, Spruce, Hemlock, Cypress, Juniper, Yew, and Redwood.

''Eastern Red Cedar''

❖ About this Tree:

One of the best conifers for wildlife habitat
Well adapted to most soils
Grows 25' - 60' tall
Hardiness: Zone 3

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Two types, usually on the same tree -- scale-like and awl shaped
Fruit: Blue berrylike cone, ¼" - ⅓" in diameter
Twig: 4-sided

''Northern White Cedar''

❖ About this Tree:

Foliage, twigs eaten by White-tailed deer
Fruit eaten by various birds
Prefers neutral to alkaline soils, limestone origin
Grows 40' - 70' tall
Hardiness: Zone 2

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Evergreen; opposite; ¹⁄₁₆ to ⅛" long; scalelike; dull yellow-green; foliage sprays fanlike
Fruit: Cone; ⅜" long; elliptical; upright from short curved stalk
Bark: Light red-brown; thin; fibrous

''Arizona Cypress''

❖ About this Tree:

Used for erosion control, windbreaks, urban landscaping, posts, stakes and corral poles
Prefers moist gravelly soils on slopes and benches
Grows 40' - 60' tall
Hardiness: Zone 6

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Minute blue-green to gray-green; scale-like; sharp pointed; finely toothed on the margins; shunlike odor when bruised
Fruit: Dark reddish brown cones about 1" long that remain on the tree for many years, become gray with age
Bark: Reddish brown with irregular, narrow, thin, curling scales that peel; on older tree's, bark becomes furrowed

''Leland Cypress''

❖ About this Tree:

Used as Christmas trees
Also good for hedgerows, windbreaks and landscaping
Adapted to a wide range of soil textures
Prefers moist, well drained soils
Grows 60' - 70' tall
Hardiness: Zone 5

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Blue-green to gray-green needles, 1/8 inch long; acute; appressed with the apices of the lateral pairs often free
Fruit: Cone, ½" to ¾" in diameter with 8 scales; each scale contains approximately 5 seeds per scale
Bark: Reddish-brown and scaly

''Bald Cypress''

❖ About this Tree:

Well adapted to wet sites
Can be planted on dry sites
Wood very resistant to decay
Develops 'knees' under saturated conditions
Grows 60' - 100' tall
Hardiness: Zone 4

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needle-like; delicate; arranged in 2 ranks in a feather-like fashion along small branchlets; branchlets with fine needles fall in the autumn
Fruit: Globe-shaped, woody cone, 1" in diameter; cones disintegrate at maturity
Twig: Reddish-brown; rough, with several short peg-like branches
Bark: Dark reddish-brown with long loose shreddy ridges

''Concolor Fir''

❖ About this Tree:

Provides winter cover for wildlife
Prefers dry to moist soils
Grows 75' - 100' tall
Hardiness: Zone 3

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; slat; linear; 2-ranked; blue-green; 1½" to 2½" long
Fruit: Cone; erect; olive brown; cylindrical; 3" - 5" long
Twig: Stout; yellow-green with clustered blunt, red-brown resinous buds
Bark: Ash, gray-brown color; flattened ridges

''Douglas Fir''

❖ About this Tree:

Winter cover for wildlife
Prefers well drained, loamy soils
Grows 80' - 200' tall
Hardiness: Zone 3

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; flexible; flattened; light green-bluegreen; blunt tip; ¾" - 1¼" long
Fruit: Cone, tan-brown; 2" - 3" long; clustered pairs; 3 points; protruding bracts
Twig: Slender; gray-brown; long; sharp-pointed buds
Bark: Reddish brown; deep furrows

''Rocky Mountain Juniper''

❖ About this Tree:

Foliage and fruit eaten by mammals and birds
Can grow on dry to moist soils
Grows 25' - 50' tall
Hardiness: Zone 3

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Small; scale-like; opposite; smooth edges; 1" - 2" long
Fruit: Small; fleshy; berry-like; .2" - .3" in diameter; bright blue
Twig: Slender, 4-sided; becoming rounded with age
Bark: Thin; reddish-brown; weathering to grayish

''Austrian Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Prefers dry, drought resistant soils
Grows 75' - 100' tall
Hardiness: Zone 3

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Evergreen, 3½" - 6" long; 2 in bundle; stiff; shiny dark green; silvery white buds
Fruit: Cone, 2" - 3" long, 1" - 1¼" wide; egg-shaped; shiny, yellow-brown; almost stalkless
Bark: Dark brown; thick; rough; furrowed into irregular scaly plates
Buds: Large, silvery buds

''Eastern White Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Prefers sandy-loam soils; avoid clay-wet soils
Grows 60' - 100' tall, 50 to 80 feet wide
Growth rate is 3' - 5' per year
Hardiness: Zone 3

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles in bundles of 5; 3" - 5" long; slender; flexible
Fruit: Cones; 4" - 8" long; cylindrical; often curved
Twig: Orange brown
Bark: Dark grayish brown; deeply furrowed on older trees; 1" - 2" thick with ridges

''Eldarica Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Prefers fine sands, silt loams to silty clay loams, and very well drained to moderately well drained soils
Fast growth if irrigated
Hardiness: Zone 7

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles 4" - 6" long borne in bundles of 2 or rarely 3; new growth blue-green, older growth darker green
Fruit: Cones; reddish brown to brown; borne singly or in whorls of 3 to 6; cones are ovate-conic, approximately 4" in length; unarmed
Bark: Silvery gray and shiny when young; becoming reddish brown; fissured and scaly on older trunks

''Loblolly Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Seeds eaten by Bobwhite quail and mourning dove
Tolerates poorly drained to well drained soils
Grows 80' - 100' tall
Hardiness: Zone 7

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; 5" - 9" long; 3 in bundle; stout, stiff, often twisted
Fruit: 3" - 5" long; conical
Bark: Blackish-gray; thick, deeply furrowed into scaly ridges exposing brown inner layers

''Ponderosa Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Seeds eaten by birds, mammals
Can grow on dry soils
Grows 75' - 100' tall
Hardiness: Zone 3

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; stout; flexible; yellow-green; 5" - 10" long; clusters of 2 or 3
Fruit: Cone, tan-brown; 3" - 6" long; scales with prickles
Twig: Stout; orange-brown; turpentine odor when broken
Bark: Black, yellow-orange (old); wide, shallow-furrowed; flaky plates

''Red Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Seeds used by songbirds and small mammals
Prefers well-drained, sandy soils
Grows 70' - 80' tall
Hardiness: Zone 2

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; to 6½" long; 2 in a bundle; dark green, snap cleanly
Fruit: Egg-shaped cones, 1½" to 2¼" long
Bark: Reddish-brown or gray; with broad, flat, scaly plates; becoming thick

''Scotch Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Prefers sandy to loam soils
Grows 50' - 75' tall
Hardiness: Zone 2

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; 1½" - 2¾" long; 2 in bundle; stiff; slightly flattened; twisted; blue-green
Fruit: Cone; 1¼" - 2 ½" long; egg-shaped; pale yellow-brown
Bark: Reddish-brown; thin; becoming gray and shredding in papery plates

''Short Leaf Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Seeds are eaten by mourning dove and Bobwhite quail
Prefers dry ridges, sandy loams and silt loams
Grows 30' - 70' tall
Hardiness: Zone 6

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; 4½" long; 2 or sometimes 3 in bundle; slender, flexible; dark blue-green
Fruit: 1½" - 2½" inches long; conical
Bark: Reddish-brown; large scaly plates

''Slash Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Seeds eaten by Bobwhite quail and mourning dove
Prefers poorly drained sandy soils
Grows 60' - 100' tall
Hardiness: Zone 7

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; 7" - 10" long; 2 and 3 in bundle; stout; stiff; shiny green
Fruit: 2½" - 6" long; narrowly shaped; shiny dark brown
Bark: Purplish-brown; flattened, scaly plates; rough and furrowed

''Virginia Pine''

❖ About this Tree:

Good wildlife value
Prefers well drained soils
Poor shade tolerance
Good drought tolerance
Grows 30' - 40' tall
Hardiness: Zone 4

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles, 1½" - 3" long; stout; gray-green; in bundles of two; twisted
Fruit: Dark reddish-brown; ovoid; lustrous; 1½" - 2½" long, with a sharp spine at the end of each scale
Bark: Shallow fissures; dark brown loose scales

''Colorado Blue Spruce''

❖ About this Tree:

Winter cover for wildlife
Prefers upland dry soils
Grows 75' - 100' tall
Hardiness: Zone 2

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; stiff; spirally arranged; 4-sided; ¾" - 1½" long; very prickly; sharp pointed
Fruit: Cone, oblong; tan-brown; cylindrical; 3" - 4" long; papery scales
Twig: Stout; orange to gray-brown
Bark: Silvery gray-brown

''Norway Spruce''

❖ About this Tree:

Foliage, twigs eaten by White-tailed deer
Needles eaten by grouse
Winter cover for many species
Prefers moist soil
Grows 75' - 100' tall
Hardiness: Zone 2

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles; ½" to 1" long; stiff; 4-angled; sharp-pointed; shiny, dark green with whitish lines; drooping foliage
Fruit: Cones; 4" - 6" long; cylindrical; light brown; hanging down
Bark: Reddish-brown; scaly

''White Spruce''

❖ About this Tree:

Foliage, twigs eaten by White-tailed deer
Needles eaten by grouse
Winter cover for many species
Prefers moist, sandy loam soils
Grows 50' - 60' tall
Grows 1' - 3' per year Hardiness: Zone 2 - 6

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Needles ½" to ¾" long; stiff; 4-angled, sharp pointed; blue-green, with whitish lines
Fruit: Cones, 1" - 2" long
Twig: Orange-brown; slender; peglike bases
Bark: Gray or brown; inner bark whitish

''Casuarina''

❖ About this Tree:

Provides perching and nesting for birds
Tolerates dry or wet soil, salinity, heat and wind
Grows 50' - 100' tall
Grows up to 8' - 10' per year
Hardiness: Zone 8

❖ Identification Tips:

Leaves: Scale-like; ⅛" long
Fruit: Light brown, warty ball
Bark: Light gray brown; smoothish on small trees, later becoming furrowed